Ten Days and Counting
by Igorina
Summary: It's the same old story: pirate meets bounty hunter, pirate and bounty hunter engage in eleven year on off relationship, bounty hunter leaves unattended infant on pirate's doorstep, pirate attempts to keep infant away from Jedi, grenades and great aunts.
1. Unexpected Delivery

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters or settings to be found herein.

A/N: I already appended the first part of this fic to the end of 'One Bounty Hunter, Lightly Singed'. However, I couldn't resist the urge to continue with the storyline (silly as it is), so I though I better give it its own post.

-0-

It was fair to say that Hondo Ohnaka was not having the best of days.

It had started badly, with him awakening to the sound of one of his men inadvertently taking out an entire munitions store in an ill-advised thermal detonator juggling accident.

Then, as was the way of these things, events had proceeded to get progressively worse: with the crash of the compound's inventory system, the destruction of one of his favourite antique blasters, Pilf Mukmuk developing a rather messy case of food poisoning, his least favourite aunt holo-communicating her intention to come a visit and the discovery that his entire personal stash of spice-adulterated Twi'lek liquor had been infested with some unfamiliar strain of ugly, green maggot-like creature.

Therefore, it didn't entirely surprise him to find, on returning to Florrum after a blessedly straightforward excursion to helpfully free an off-course Mon Calamari merchant carrier of its cargo, that something was very wrong.

He did not, on stepping off the cruiser immediately know what it was, but he knew the warning signs. The sudden quiet of the pirates who'd remained on-world, as he and the other returnees disembarked from the ship. The side-long glances. Those quiet, almost inaudible, mutterings that all had that same distinct, agitated undertone of 'the boss is not going to be pleased'.

He was about to accost one of them at random and demand to know what was going on when he spotted a group of Weequay standing around what seemed to be some kind of open-topped crate. Guessing that the contents must be the cause of the present disquiet from the way all but one of them fled (in as nonchalant a manner as they could) as he looked in their direction, he turned and strode on over.

Then his eyes widened as he saw that the crate was not so much a crate as a bassinette.

A bassinette containing a small infant whose features strongly hinted at Weequay parentage, but whose paleness and tuft of auburn hair suggested some kind of hybridisation.

As he stared, it looked back, its green eyes somehow managing to convey extreme disgruntlement.

The remaining Weequay, a pirate by the name of Sholto who was one of the younger and more hapless members of the gang, looked at Hondo with a stricken expression.

"She just turned up, handed it to me and left," he said, as if protesting his innocence in the whole affair. "I tried to get her to wait until you were back, but she said that there was a note in the cot and that she was on a tight schedule and... and then it started screaming and didn't stop until it saw one of the Monkey Lizards jumping around."

Hondo didn't bother to ask who the 'she' in question was. He was a quick thinker and the pieces were already falling into place and forming a terrible, awful picture in his mind. Instead he tentatively reached down into the bassinette, picked up the datapad at the foot and tried to digest the unencrypted contents.

**_Hondo,_**

**_Remember how 'friendly' things got between us last time I was here? You know, before I realised that you were planning to keep the ship. Well, this is the result._**

**_Yes, she is yours!_**

**_Yes, I am sure! What kind of woman do you think I am?_**

**_Her name is Ruby. She's three standard months old. She's at least half your fault._**

**_Anyway, I've got a job lined up with Bane and the nanny droid broke yesterday (cheap Trade Federation crap), so I thought that it was time you took some responsibility._**

**_Feed her a mixture of Nerf blood and Standardised Baby Formula No. 5288 and make sure she's kept clean. I'll be back for her in ten days. Let any Jedi near her and I'll castrate you. Let them take a blood sample for Midichlorian testing and I'll use a blunt dagger to do it._**

**_Love,  
Aurra._**

Cursing, he wondered what he could have possibly done to deserve this. All right, he lived a life of shameless piracy, but surely he wasn't, in the grand scheme of things, all that bad and... and everybody knew that Humans and Weequay couldn't interbreed. Okay, fair enough, Aurra was half-human and half-_other_, but it should stand to reason that if the _other_, whatever that was (another thing she'd never told him), could successfully interbreed with humans it ought to be incompatible with Weequay.

He looked at Sholto.

"When did she leave?"

"Two hours ago."

He cursed again, this time a small, treacherous part of his mind (that sounded suspiciously like his least favourite aunt) berated him for using such language in front of a child. If Aurra had departed that long ago, there was no way that he'd be able to track her down and make her take his— _her_ child back.

Turning his gaze back to the baby, he scrutinised her some more. She was a tiny, little thing. Far more fragile and helpless looking than anything containing half of his and half of Aurra's DNA really had a right to be.

Sholto took this switch in his boss's attention as a cue that it was permissible for him to leave. Something he did at a speed that would have done him great credit had he ever seen fit to use it during the few raids he'd participated in thus far in his pirating career.

Hondo knelt down and continued to stare at the child, who was still looking back, disgruntlement replace with a gaze of intent curiosity. Not entirely cognizant of what he was doing, he reached out to the infant, who proceeded to curl her hand around his little finger.

He groaned and fought back the urge to curse. "Fine," he said to the child, trying to sound as displeased as he could without actually being threatening. "You can stay here for ten days. _Just ten_. After that you're going back to your mother. And if she doesn't come here and collect you I'll find out where she is and send you back to her on a third class courier ship."

As if on cue the child intensified its grip on his finger and made a small whimpering noise.

"Don't look at me like that," he said, groaning. "This is Aurra's fault, not mine."

It continued to look.

"I said, don't do that," he reiterated. It was no good though, he could already feel himself weakening. There was just something in that curious little gaze.


	2. Days 1 to 5

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters or settings to be found herein.

A/N: I decided to break down the ten days until Aurra's return into a series of 300 word ficlets. I should hopefully have Days 6 to 10 (in which there will be Jedi, bounty hunters and the dreaded Aunt Hyarsinth) posted soon. For anybody who might be wondering, I named Hondo and Aurra's unfortunate progeny Ruby in honour of the infamous bounty hunter Ruby Journey from Simon R. Green's Deathstalker series.

-0-

**Day 1**

Hondo stared down at the tiny, wailing form in the bassinette and fought the urge to groan in defeat. This definitely wasn't the time to show weakness. The little one had already demonstrated her imperviousness to threats ('_If you don't hush soon I'll take you to Vanqor and feed you to the Gundarks')_, bribes ('_Be a good, quiet little girl and when you're bigger I'll help you to steal a star cruiser of your very own_'), flattery ('_A pretty child like you has no cause to be upset_') and reason ('_The way I see it we're in this together, so isn't it in both our interests to try and be friends?_').

He refused to resort to pleas though. It was one thing to, say, beg for one's life when there was a Jedi with a lightsaber at your throat (or even beg an enraged former girlfriend not to destroy your prize collection of vintage Twi'lek liquor), but this was a three month old baby.

Sighing, he reached into the crib and awkwardly picked up the infant.

"What is it that you want, little one? I've had a droid feed you. I've had a droid clear up your mess. What else can there be?"

Seemingly startled by the sudden change in orientation, the baby stopped crying and stared up at him. After a few seconds, she resumed, but with nowhere the same unhappy intensity as before. Then gradually the wails quietened to mere whimpers.

It was his turn to stare. "You wanted this? To be picked up?"

There was no cogent reply, but the way her formerly tightly clenched hands uncurled seemed to suggest a response in the affirmative.

"So, you refuse a ship, but you're willing to settle for being picked up?" Hondo shook his head. "You can't be mine."

-0-

**Day 2**

The genetic scan revealed that there was virtually no chance whatsoever of him **_not_** being the father.

This shouldn't have come as quite the shock that it did. Rumours of Aurra's promiscuity were, after all, absurdly exaggerated (and in certain cases out-and-out slanderous). However, the finality of it all was rather too sobering for his liking.

It wasn't that he actually had anything against the idea of being a father, per se. More the fact that he'd always presupposed that any heretofore unknown offspring that might abruptly appear in his life would take the form of a teenage son, ready and eager to embrace a life of piracy in the Ohnaka Gang. A protégée he could immediately start to train in the fine arts of looting, plundering, kidnapping and extortion.

The possibility of a baby daughter, whose main interests were feeding, sleeping, crying, emitting noxious substances and grasping things, had never really entered his mind as anything likely to happen to him. Yet there she was: tiny, helpless and point-blank refusing to accept the bottle of nerf blood and formula the reprogrammed bar-tender droid was trying to feed her.

"You could always send 'er to one of your aunts," suggested Ingot Cadinn, the one-eyed, one-legged, one-armed master of the stores. "That's what I'd do."

It was a possibility that he had considered, but very quickly rejected. "If I did that then there would be some... _awkward_ questions. Like: _Who is her mother_? _Why aren't you respectably married to this woman_?"

Cadinn looked puzzled. "I'd 'ave thought the answers would be obvious. 'Er mother's Aurra Sing; and you're not respectably married to the woman because she's completely insane."

Hondo shook his head. "Cadinn, you haven't met Aunt Hyarsinth. Believe me when I say that she wouldn't accept insanity as an excuse."

-0-

**Day 3**

Hondo looked down at the child in his arms and shook his head.

"You know I can't carry you around all day," he said. "I've got raids to plot, captives to ransom, spice to offload." He opted not to add 'some serious drinking to do', but thought it nonetheless.

Seeming to sense that she was in imminent danger of being put back into her bassinette or handed over to a droid she began to whimper and fuss.

He sighed. "Alright, you can have a few minutes more, but then you're going back into your crib." As he spoke, he noticed that some quality of his voice seemed to be lulling her back into relative quiet.

A thought struck.

"I know, why don't I tell you a story?" He knew that she probably couldn't understand a word he was saying (she certainly hadn't understood _'that's a grenade not a rattle'_), but perhaps if he talked soothingly to her for long enough she might fall asleep. "It's a story about a pirate who meets a beautiful bounty hunter. Would you like to hear it?"

Ruby gurgled in contentment.

"Well," he began. "It all began eleven years ago on a place called Wayfarer Station..."

He proceeded to tell the tale of how he'd first encountered Aurra, leaving out certain _unsuitable_ sections of the tale (such as the part regarding Cad Bane, the dancing girl and the exploding birthday cake) and enhancing others (such as the number of blaster-toting Zabrak mercenaries the Ohnaka Gang had taken out).

"...and so in the end Jango got his bounty, your mother got her bounty and I got all the gold and spice on the station."

He looked down to see how the child was reacting to the exciting, action-packed tale of high-stakes swashbuckling.

She was fast asleep.

-0-

**Day 4**

"Boss, there's a woman on the comm channel asking for you. She says it's something to do with droids and babies."

"What?" Horrifying visions of yet another former flame depositing infant offspring on his doorstep immediately flooded his head.

"Her name's Tula Coruscanti."

His relief on hearing this was palpable. He was absolutely, completely certain that he'd never engaged in any activity liable to produce offspring with Tula Coruscanti.

"Tell her I'll call her back," he said, as casually as he could, trying not to let his relief show. It really wouldn't do to have his underlings think that he could be so easily phased; especially an underling like Sholto, who still sometimes had to be reminded which way round to point his blaster.

"Right, Boss."

Two minutes later Sholto returned.

"What is it now?" Hondo demanded.

"I told her and she said: 'Does Ohnaka want the kriffing Nanny droid or not?'"

Quick as a flash, Hondo was on his feet and heading in the direction of the nearest holo-terminal.

"Tula," he said in his most charming voice, as a plump human woman in an elaborate wig appeared. "It's been too long."

"Save the pleasantries, Ohnaka. Sing just ordered me to deliver a nanny droid to Florrum before the end of next week at blaster-point. Can I confirm that you'll give me landing clearance in three day's time?"

"Three days! Can't you make it any sooner?"

"Unfortunately that would mean me having to turn down a very lucrative opportunity."

"I'll give you ten-thousand credits worth of spice." It was an overly generous offer, but the horror of seeing the supposedly reprogrammed bar droid try to feed Ruby a bottle of Corellian brandy earlier that day was still fresh in his mind.

Tula smiled. "In that case I'll see you tomorrow."

-0-

**Day 5**

As the crate containing the nanny droid was unloaded, Tula Coruscanti: fence, spice-trader and general purveyor of illicit goods, peered at Ruby with an expression of perplexity.

"So that's her then?" she said, sounding faintly bewildered. "Sing's baby."

"Yes this is her."

"But she looks so... so _sweet_. There's no malice. No resentment. No undercurrent of seething hatred towards the universe."

"She's also half mine," he pointed out, before remembering that he was endeavouring to distance himself from this fact.

"Can I hold her?"

Only too happy to let another being deal with her for a while, Hondo handed her over.

Ruby, who had been quite content where she was, was decidedly unhappy about this sudden turn of events. However, just as she was about to start vocalising her displeasure, something caught her eye. Something interesting and pretty and shiny that was hanging around the new big person's neck.

Hondo watched as Ruby reached up with her little hand and took hold of Tula Coruscanti's gemstone necklace.

He then proceeded to inwardly laugh as Tula, too preoccupied with trying to pry the tiny fingers away, failed to dodge the Monkey Lizard that leapt up onto her shoulder and deftly unclasped the back of the necklace.

Losing interest in the jewels the moment the much more fascinating Pilf Mukmuk started to jump around, Ruby let her grip on the gems slacken, leaving the necklace free for the Monkey Lizard's taking.

As Tula cursed, swore and berated her burly Nautolan bodyguards for failing to prevent the incident, it dawned on Hondo that his three month old daughter had just, in effect, participated in her very first jewellery theft.

Experiencing a sudden and fierce surge of parental pride, he retrieved the child and kissed the top of her head

_His_ clever little girl.


	3. Days 6 to 10

**Disclaimer:** The Star Wars universe and all of the characters and settings therein belong to George Lucas. No money is being made.

**A/N:** A big thank you to everybody who reviewed the last two instalments.

Centaurgirl21: Very weird children indeed. To be honest, I dread to think how many little half-Weequay Hondos and Hondorinas he's left strewn about the galaxy.

Queen: Hondo just can't understand why the usual tactics don't work on Ruby. After all, how many three month olds get offered stolen star cruisers of their very own?

Trina: Hehe, Hondo doubtless had an entire script worked out for the 'hitherto unknown son' scenario. It will not, alas, do for little Ruby.

Anahita Unduli II: Ruby's fascination with Monkey Lizards and valuable jewels is a clear sign that the Ohnaka blood is running true. To Aurra's utter disgruntlement however she is yet to show any interest in blasters (and indeed tends to start crying whenever her mother shoots somebody in her presence).

**-0-**

**Days 6 to 10 **

**-0-  
**

**Day 6**

It had been a good day.

The nanny droid was up and working, he'd won three consecutive games of Sabacc (by virtue of being the best cheater at the table) and Tula Coruscanti had been forced to waiver all payment owed on the express nanny droid delivery in exchange for help repairing her ship's temperature control systems.

Best of all though had been the raid. A freighter with a cargo hold full of valuable ores (and a few discreet and deniable compartments full of Kessel's finest) had been unwise enough to try and quietly cut through the area of space surrounding Florrum, and Hondo and his men had been only too happy to illustrate of the risks inherent in such behaviour.

However, rather than immediately rushing to attend the customary post-victory booze-up, on his return to the base he found himself, almost involuntarily, wandering first in the direction of Ruby's makeshift nursery.

As soon as she saw him, the infant gave a delighted squeal and began to wave her little arms about in excitement.

He couldn't help but smile at this. Ruby might not have been teenage son that he'd always imagined he'd one day encounter (and, given his incautious attitude towards the employment of 'precautionary measures', still might), but the necklace incident had proven her to be his daughter.

"Hello, little one," he said, picking her up. "Guess what your clever father did today."

Ruby made a series of unintelligible, but contented-sounding vocalisations.

Taking this as a cue to continue, he launched into a vivid (and decidedly exaggerated) description of how the Ohnaka gang had boarded the freighter, sacked the cargo holds and taken the captain hostage: paying special attention to the devious tricks involved.

It was, after all, never too early to start instilling proper Ohnaka family values.

**Day 7**

_"Kenobi?"_

"Yes, boss. Crash landed just outside the base"

As visions of blunt daggers began to assault his mind, Hondo fought the urge to bury his head in his hands and groan the phrase _'Why me, why me?'_ over and over again to any deity that might be listening. Now was most definitely not the time to panic.

So, he and Kenobi were about to cross paths once again. So what? All he needed to do in order to avoid Aurra's wrath (and thus ensure that his masculinity remained intact) was make sure he didn't find out about Ruby.

No problem. He could do that.

-0-

Obi Wan Kenobi sighed as he saw Hondo approach.

There were days when he suspected that the Force had an ever so slightly sadistic sense of humour... and days when he was absolutely certain. Today was definitely one of the latter.

"Kenobi." Hondo grinned and clapped him on the back. "What brings you to Florrum?"

"Slight altercation with a comet," he responded, half-truthfully. The incident had clearly been the result of sabotage to his craft's navigational system, but there was no need to mention this.

"Well, you're in luck," said Hondo. "I've got just the replacement vessel for you."

He gave another sigh. "And how much is it going to cost?"

To his surprise, Hondo gave a staggeringly reasonable figure in Republic credits, before gesturing to a sleek, white craft, next to which a human woman in a turquoise wig was arguing with a one-legged Weequay.

"Does that woman know you're trying to sell her ship?" he asked, getting the distinct feeling that there was something here that the pirate didn't want him to see.

Hondo shrugged. "Tula Coruscanti has never burdened herself with the technicalities of ownership. We'd just be... following her noble example."

**Day 8**

In accordance with the universal laws of irony, Kenobi found out about Ruby's existence just as he was about to depart Florrum.

The nanny droid (which was rapidly being revealed to possess a bossy, dictatorial streak that feared neither blaster bolt nor pirate's wrath) descended, Ruby in its metal arms, while Hondo was in the process of directing him towards Tula Coruscanti's courier ship.

This in itself would not perhaps have been too bad if the damnable droid had not immediately started to berate him for child neglect.

"Mr. Ohnaka, I really must object to the callous manner in which you've been ignoring your poor daughter today."

Hondo looked at Kenobi and gave an uncomfortable laugh. "Useless thing's had its circuit scrambled."

"Circuits scrambled?" the droid was indignant. "I'll have you know that I've been carefully calibrated to deliver optimal child care performance."

"So she's not yours then?" said Kenobi, an expression that was very nearly a smirk settling on his face.

"Absolutely not."

Kenobi's lips momentarily twitched upwards.

"She certainly seems to like you," the Jedi remarked, as Ruby began to smile.

"I gave her a rattle yesterday."

"She looks like you too."

"Don't all Weequay look alike to human eyes?"

"No, there's a definite similarity between the two of you," said Kenobi, not bothering to suppress his amusement. "Though she also bears a striking resemblance to Aurra Sing, so who can tell."

There was, he knew, no point in keeping up the pretence. Time to appeal directly "Kenobi, we're both men of the galaxy—"

"Oh, don't worry Hondo, there's no reason for me to mention having seen her. We were already aware of her existence." He cast a meaningful glance at Ruby. "And in case you were wondering, she's about as force sensitive as a house brick."

**Day 9**

Hondo looked on in amusement as Tula Coruscanti attempted to rage at him.

Having appropriated her property without permission several times before, he knew that she was usually quite good at raging. However, due to the contentedly sleeping infant residing in the bassinette on his desk, the woman was being force to rely on irate whispers and emphatic gestures.

He was sitting back, enjoying the spectacle, when the door suddenly opened to reveal an elderly Weequay female.

"_Aunt Hyarsinth_!"

Aunt Hyarsinth looked from Hondo to Tula to Ruby, clearly putting two-and-two together and making seventeen, before fixing a glare that would freeze nitrogen on Hondo.

"Hondo, explain yourself."

Aunt Hyarsinth was a woman of somewhat idiosyncratic morality. She thoroughly approved of looting, pillaging, kidnapping, extortion and spice trafficking; but most heartily disapproved of carousing, debauchery, womanising, drunkenness and all of the other things that made a life of piracy, well, _fun_. She would not react well were she to discover that he'd inadvertently impregnated that_ 'pasty-faced slattern'_. Aunt Hyarsinth had nothing against bounty hunters per se, but a great deal against bounty hunters who shamelessly 'flaunted themselves' while pursuing their prey(1).

Hondo cleared his throat. "Wellll, you see..." Then inspiration struck and he gestured towards Tula. "This unfortunate found herself in a delicate condition after an encounter with one of my men. I've generously decided to adopt the little one as my own."

Aunt Hyarsinth redirected her glare towards Tula. "What was the father's name?"

"He didn't say," Tula replied, looking 'meaningfully' at Hondo. "Just told me to call him Big Boy."

"Surely you'd recognise him on sight?"

"The nightclub was very dark."

Hyarsinth turned back to her nephew. "Hondo, you must locate this man and arrange a decent, honourable marriage between the two of them. I insist on it."

-0-0-0-

(1) Hondo on the other hand was very much in favour of bounty hunters 'flaunting themselves' as long as they looked like Aurra and not, say, Bossk(2).

(2) He hadn't been able to sleep for a week after _that_ particular nightmare.

**Day 10**

"Look Ohnaka, I refuse to enter into a sham marriage just because you're too scared to tell your aunt that you knocked-up Sing.".

Hondo made a dismissive gesture. "But you won't have to marry anybody. That's the beauty of my plan. We'll simply leave it for a few days and then tell Aunt Hyarsinth that the father can't be found and that you were obviously duped by an unprincipled scoundrel who was merely pretending to be a member of the gang. Then I'll generously reiterate my intention to raise Ruby as my own and you'll leave Florrum.

"And how am I supposed to leave Florrum without a ship? You sold mine to a Jedi for a pittance."

He was briefly tempted to suggest that she use her cut of the meagre proceeds to pay for passage to Nar Shaddaa, but decided against it. "I'll give you a new ship. Quicksilver Class."

"Fine, I'll do it, but only as long as... _Hey_, what's that bastard done to my bodyguards?"

Hondo looked around to see Sholto standing over the bodies of Tula's Nautolans.

"That little kriffer. I paid a ten-thousand credit deposit for those two."

Hondo briefly considered trying to point out that any bodyguard who could be felled by Sholto was dead weight anyway, but decided against it. The sight of her descending upon the poor hapless pirate and thrashing him with his own blaster was too entertaining.

"_So_, the miscreant has finally been identified."

He recognised the voice immediately as Aunt Hyarsinth's.

"Ah yes... and I'll make sure they're respectably married as soon as I can find somebody qualified to officiate."

"Stupid boy," berated Aunt Hyarsinth. "You're leader of this gang, are you not?"

"Yes but—"

"Then you'll have them married tomorrow, before he has chance to run away."

**-0-**

**A/N: **Typical isn't it, Hondo got Aurra pregnant and two (comparatively) innocent OCs who've never so much as set eyes on each other before have to have a belated shotgun wedding in their stead. Anyway, the next instalment will feature Aurra's return and the ill-advised marriage of the aforementioned luckless OCs.


	4. The Wedding: Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Star Wars universe. No money is being made from this work of fanfiction.

**A/N: **Apologies for any distressing Bossk-related mental images that last instalment may have induced. I'm afraid that this instalment doesn't cover as much ground as I originally planned (brevity really doesn't seem to be my forte), so it's probably best considered as the first in a two-parter.

Big thank you to everybody who's reviewed thus far.

Centaurgirl21: I'm glad that you're enjoying the story. Hondo and Aurra are such fun to write (though I do feel sorry for all of the poor OCs who've been unfortunate enough to cross their paths here).

Queen: I fear that Hondo is yet to master the art of bribing children. He may offer Ruby a squadron of fully armed pirate ships at three years of age in exchange for guaranteed tantrum cessation, but odds are that what she'll really want is a _Burt the Baby Bantha _doll and some brightly coloured crayons.

**-0-**

**The Wedding: Part 1**

"... so I'm thinking: a virile, young pirate and an experienced woman of commerce, what could be more natural?"

It was clear from Tula's withering glare and Sholto's look of utter terror that the pair were not yet quite sold on their fate.

"Forget it, Ohnaka," said Tula, pursing her lips. "I've already entered into one sham marriage at your instigation and I'm not doing it again."

"You have?" Hondo tried and failed to recall this occurrence.

"That Dug on Algrith. You ought to remember it. The whole thing was your idea."

A dim memory of a party, an elderly Dug and a scowling Tula surfaced in his mind. The whole recollection was clouded by a heavy fog of inebriation, but there was a definite nuptial theme going on. "Oh that, I thought that was just an engagement."

"No, we had to get married. Or rather, he did. He couldn't get the Ruralis Three docking permit unless he was actually married to a citizen and I was the only one you both knew."

Ah, now he remembered. That incredibly convoluted Glitterstim trade. "But that's all over now."

"Of course it's all over _now_, but it took five months to get an annulment."

"Yes, but you see, that wouldn't be a problem here."

"Only because Weequay marriage customs don't allow for annulment on the grounds of non-consummation."

Damn, he had hoped that her knowledge of Weequay customs was as limited as her knowledge Monkey Lizard behaviour. Time to switch strategy.

"You know Tula, you're not getting any younger."

"_Excuse me?_"

"You're what, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, and you still don't have a man to call your own. I'm offering you a chance to remedy the situation."

Truth be told she wasn't a bad looking being. Far too short and round for Hondo's tastes, but he could see how she might appeal to somebody who liked that sort of thing. However, the days when she'd been known _Wayfarer Station's Most Beautiful Human_ were well and truly behind her and she knew it. If he could just induce the seeds of inadequacy to flourish then maybe...

"I'm three years younger than Sing," Tula snapped, obviously affronted. "And it's not as if she currently has a man to call her own either. Well, unless the rumours are true and she's currently doing it with Cad Bane, Shahan Alama and that Zabrak bartender at the Spitenmalice Lounge... but as you know I'm not one to pay attention to all of the writing I see on lavatory walls, especially the bits about you not being very good at _you know what_."

That was a low blow, even if he (and his ego) knew it to be wholly untrue. Under normal circumstances he would have retaliated by smiling, clapping her on the back and telling her that he'd be sure to mention to Aurra how thorough and diligent Tula was being in bringing these slanderous lies to the attention of all and sundry. That would be sure to put her in mortal terror for a while. However, right now he knew that doing that would hinder his ultimate goal of keeping Ruby's true parentage hidden from Aunt Hyarsinth.

"I'll pay you," said Hondo, conceding that this was probably the only way to get her to capitulate.

Tula looked Sholto – who was still struck dumb with horror – up and down with obvious distain. "Ohnaka, there aren't enough credits in the Republic."

Hondo removed a datapad from one of his many inside pockets and tapped out a figure. He then proffered the pad to Tula, whose eyes widened.

"Double it and I might give the matter some consideration," she said.

He pantomimed an expression of shock and offence. "Oh, come, come, that would ruin me. Have you no regard for poor Ruby's future?"

Inwardly however he was smiling. There may not be enough credits in the republic to tempt Tula to do his bidding, but there was certainly enough top-grade Glitterstim in the warehouse. It was now just a matter of... _haggling._

**-0-**

As the ship dropped out of hyperspace on the outskirts of the Florrum system, its lone occupant sat back in the pilot's chair and pondered whether she really wanted to retrieve the bundle she'd left there ten days ago.

On the one hand her life was so much more straightforward without the distraction of a small, attention-seeking infant (not to mention the persistent nagging of the accompanying nanny droid). On the other, part of her positively rebelled against the idea of wholesale abandonment. It would be too much like admitting defeat and... well, the fact was that she was strangely attached to her offspring, even if said offspring was yet to demonstrate any sign of the killer instinct.

Long fingers tapped rhythmically against the underside of the navigation consol.

_What to do? What to do?_

To say that Aurra Sing had been shocked to find out that she was going to be a mother would be the single greatest act of understatement since Senator Expen Dee Bell had referred to the Clone Wars as 'a slight brouhaha in the Mid Rim'. Indeed, her reaction to the medical droid's pronouncement that she had left Florrum with 'unexpected cargo on board' could be broken down into five stages: denial, horror, homicidal fury, more horror and grudging acceptance.

Denial had lasted a very long time.

The droid was obviously wrong. Everybody knew that it was completely impossible for Weequay to impregnate half-human hybrids. If it _was_ possible (which it quite clearly wasn't) then it would have happened years ago; back in the days before Hondo had decided that he could only handle her company in very small doses. And the periodic nausea and vomiting? Well that could all doubtless be put down to some low grade but doggedly persistent virus. Ditto the tiredness, swollen stomach and abnormal craving for chunks of raw Tauntaun liver dunked in Bantha milk.

Wilful self-deception, alas, can only take one so far in such a situation, and the moment came when she was forced to ditch denial in favour of horror.

The moment in question was not one that she would easily forget. There she'd been, sitting alone in a Nar Shaddaa dive bar, waiting for a contact to show and mentally congratulating herself on finding an overshirt that completely hid her recent (and very localised) weight gain, when Shahan Alama walked right up to her and straight out asked who the father was.

Denial in the face of droid diagnoses and the evidence of one's own body was one thing. Denial in the face of the tactless observations of one's fellow bounty hunters was quite another.

Horror however was very quickly followed by homicidal fury. A transition that was sparked by the discovery that Alama's interest in the matter was primarily due to the fact that certain members of the underworld fraternity had been setting up betting pools.

"Rig Moson at the Old Rancor Grill has got the odds of it being Bane's at two to one," the obnoxiously smug Weequay bounty hunter had said. "I told him it wasn't likely though. Said that it was probably Ohnaka, or maybe some Zabrak you picked up on Wayfarer Station."

After breaking Alama's jaw (it would be stupid to shoot a man who owed her money before he could be made to make a full repayment at one-hundred percent interest) and expressing her displeasure at Rig Moson and his ilk in a rather more terminal fashion (no outstanding debts there), she found herself regressing back to horror. It was true. She was pregnant. Her unique physiology meant that she couldn't get rid of it without considerable risk to herself. She would soon be physically unable to engage in all of the climbing, running, leaping, clambering and general acrobatics that her profession demanded.

It was, in short, a complete disaster.

Nevertheless, neither horror nor homicidal fury are reactions that can be indefinitely sustained (though she'd made a damned good go of sustaining the latter) and thus despair and acceptance became the only available alternatives. Not being enough of a masochist to embrace out and out despair, she opted for (grudging) acceptance.

The thought of having a miniature version of herself to mentor in the art of bounty hunting was not, after all, entirely unappealing. True, the whole 'mentor' thing hadn't worked out very well with Jango's son, but that was clearly because the boy was lacking in the ruthlessness department. She was certain that this was not a flaw that any offspring of _hers_ would possess. _Her_ child would be the perfect little assassin: ruthless, quick, cunning and not in the least prone to hesitating when she told it to shoot the hostages.

Alas, when her daughter was finally born (after a prolonged and agonisingly painful ordeal that she had no intention of repeating ever again) it rapidly became clear that the little one was not innately imbued with the 'killer instinct'. She was, in fact, tiny, innocent, helpless, wholly dependent and liable to start crying if her mother shot anything in her presence. Aurra, disappointed in her daughter's all too obvious dissimilarity to herself, had for a few days been tempted to doorstep her at the nearest reputable orphanage. However, each time she'd picked up the (as of yet unnamed) baby girl with the intention of doing this, the manipulative little thing had opened her eyes and _looked_ at her.

This had been too much for even the infamously cold-blooded Aurra Sing. The soft, almost tender, feelings that the infant's unfocussed green-eyed gaze had induced were largely alien to her, but it did not prevent them from having a devastating impact. Aurra, wondering if the emotion she was experiencing was guilt, abandoned the abandonment plan and acquired a top of the range nanny droid. She then named the child Ruby (her initial choice of _Aurra Junior _not seeming quite fitting) and resumed her bounty hunting career. The killer instinct could, she reasoned, be instilled once Ruby was old enough walk and hold a gun.

It had not at any point up until twelve days ago occurred to her to tell Hondo about Ruby. She had, after all, been rather angry at him for claiming salvage rights on Slave I (even though he'd taken it in payment for the damage she'd caused to his base); and after publically declaring that she never wanted to see his face again, she knew that turning up miserable and pregnant on his doorstep would make her look at best desperate and at worst weak.

Of course, when the nanny droid had broken down two days before she was due to embark on an exceptionally lucrative job with Bane, she'd had no choice but to require that Hondo start to take some responsibility.

Having been fortuitous enough to arrive while Hondo was away on a raid on her last visit, she'd managed to avoid the inevitable _'Are you sure she's mine?' _altercation. Now though... now, she'd have to deal with the fallout.

If, that was, she decided to land.

Long fingers continued to tap against the underside of the consol.

It would be easy enough to plot a course away from Florrum: to head on back to Nar Shaddaa and forget about this whole unfortunate maternal interlude had ever happened. But, no, she couldn't. If she just disappeared from Ruby's existence, the image of that green-eyed gaze would just keep on entering her head at awkward moments; and that would be... _unprofessional_.

Having made her decision, she tapped in a landing course and watched as the planet drew nearer.

**-0-**

"I'm not doing it, Boss. You can't make me."

It was the first time Sholto had ever demonstrated anything like real defiance. A shame, Hondo thought, that he never seemed to be able to summon this level of spirit when it really counted.

"Tula Coruscanti's a rich woman," he pointed out. "Very rich. And so you, my young friend are in a fortunate position."

"If she's so rich why don't you marry her yourself?" Sholto protested.

"Because, Sholto, I'm not the marrying kind."

"And I am?"

"Obviously."

"_Obviously?_"

"Well, you've never had much luck with women, have you?"

Sholto scowled, unable to counter this assertion. All of the young pirate's attempts at flirtation seemed to end with a slap to the face. "No, but..."

Hondo smiled. "There, you see. You're obviously not suited to a life of serial dalliances and casual affairs. But this doesn't matter because I've found a woman for you to marry."

"But I don't like her."

He waved his hand dismissively. "You barely know her."

"She tried to kill me."

"Only because you beat her bodyguards unconscious."

"They laughed at me, the Nautolans bastards."

"A small misunderstanding. I'm sure she's already forgiven you." Gods knew, Hondo was paying her enough.

"But she's all...all..." Sholto made a series of rather confusing hand gestures. "She's all _smooth_."

"Smooth?" Hondo repeated, nonplussed.

"All humans are."

"Oh, you mean..." Hondo made a series of less confusing but somewhat more lurid hand gestures.

Sholto nodded. "Smooth, the lot of them. It's not...not normal" The young pirate then gulped, obviously recalling Hondo's own all too clear predilections in that direction. "Er, no offence, Boss."

Hondo pondered this for a few seconds. He himself had always found smoothness quite an attractive feature in a woman, but then given that most of the Weequay females he met seemed to remind him of one aunt or another, it was probably unsurprising that his tastes ran towards the exotic. Sholto by contrast was clearly something of a traditionalist.

"Sholto, you really should try to be less parochial about these things."

"_Paroki-what?_"

He gave an exaggerated sigh. It was clear that reason was going to have even less impact on Sholto than it did on Ruby (who at least had the excuse of being three months old).

"Alright," he said finally. "What would it take to induce you to marry Tula Coruscanti?"

He was aware that he was basically writing the most hapless member of his gang a blank cheque, but time was getting on, and if he couldn't get the pair married soon Aunt Hyarsinth would start asking questions.

Sholto considered the matter for several minutes before opening his mouth to speak. "I think..."

"Yes?" Hondo prompted.

"I think it'd take a new speeder bike. One with guns on it."

Hondo waited for him to continue. When he didn't, Hondo cleared his throat. "So if I gave you a new speeder bike with mounted guns you'd marry her."

Sholto looked uncertain, as if he'd just asked for a forty percent cut of all future spice trading deals. Hondo couldn't quite believe his luck. He'd been expecting to have to shell out at least half as much Glitterstim on the other Weequay as he had on Tula.

"You drive a hard bargain, Sholto," he said, managing not to break out into a grin.

Sholto shifted uncomfortably, apparently feeling that he might well have just crossed the line. "I'd be willing to go for just the bike at a push," he mumbled.

Hondo made a great show of considering the matter. "Well," he said, after much faux-deliberation. "You find me in a difficult situation. So very well, I'll give in to your extravagant demands."

"You will?" Sholto looked dumbfounded.

"Yes, but now you've got to uphold your end the bargain. Try to smarten yourself up a little before the wedding."

"Smarten myself up?"

"Have a wash, change your clothes."

"But I've only got the one set of clothes," said Sholto.

Hondo considered this, acutely aware that Tula (who was rumoured to require two separate storage facilities to house her shoe collection) would be disgusted. "Ask Ingot Cadinn for another set. One without too many blood stains."

As Sholto departed Hondo couldn't help but wonder how any Weequay could be part of the Ohnaka Gang for five years and still be so unremittingly dense. His men were not famed for their intellectual prowess, this was true, but there were such things as cunning and guile, and Sholto was yet to demonstrate either. He shook his head. Perhaps Jango had been right about followers being more trouble than they were worth. But then again Jango was dead and Hondo wasn't.

As his thoughts began to drift from the practical to the nostalgic, his communications device bleeped.

"What is it?" he said.

"It's _Her _again, Captain," said the voice of Ingot Cadinn. "She's just landed outside the compound."

Not needing to be told who the _Her_ in question was, he immediately got to his feet. He had to explain the situation to her before she encountered Aunt Hyarsinth and his ad hoc web of deception came crashing down around him. And after that? Well... after that Aurra had a few things to explain to him.


	5. The Wedding: Part 2

A/N: Thank you to everybody who read and reviewed the last chapter.

**Queen:** Poor Sholto, he really doesn't have any fixed life goals beyond the acquisition of speeder bikes and speeder bike accessories.

**Anahita Unduli II:** Thanks :) I'm glad you thought Aurra's characterisation was okay (am not sure how I've done here though).

**KitFisto'sGirl:** Am glad you enjoyed the last chapter. Shahan Alama really should have known better than to incite Aurra's wrath like that.

**Rocku:** Thank you :) Hondo and Aurra are so much fun to write. Their relationship (or rather ex-relationship with benefits) is so entertainingly dysfunctional.

**Aurora Lunar:** Due to various work committments I can sometimes be a little slow in updating my longer stories.

**fandelivres**: Am glad you're enjoying the story :) Unfortunately I'm not always able to update as frequently as I'd like to at the moment.

**-o0O0o-**

In the minutes between making the decision to land and touching down on the surface of Florrum, Aurra had mentally rehearsed several reunion scenarios. These included: an almighty row between Hondo and herself (possibly resulting in a repetition of the activities that had got her into so much trouble the last time); a vicious exchange of blows between Hondo and herself (possibly resulting in one or both of them having to spend several days in bacta); the revelation that Hondo had swapped Ruby for a new tank (inevitably resulting in the former's immediate disembowelment and decapitation); or possibly, if she was very lucky, Hondo handing her daughter straight back to her while hurriedly remarking that Florrum was no place for an infant girlchild.

She did not, at any point, anticipate what was actually about to transpire.

It was just too ridiculous.

The fact that Hondo emerged from the compound without her daughter instantly sent her fingers flying in the direction of her holsters. It was a natural reaction, one honed through Anzati training and over a decade of bounty hunting experience. Rather less natural in her opinion was the way her stomach lurched. Not with decent, honest fear for her own life, but some insidious dread that pertained entirely to the well being of the small child she'd left there ten days ago.

It was all deeply disconcerting.

Hondo, perceptive enough to note the fact that she was a split second away from drawing her blasters and facilitating his swift departure to the afterlife, raised his hands in supplication.

It was enough to prevent her from drawing her weapons, but not enough to get her move her hands from the holsters.

"Where's Ruby?" she demanded, before he had chance to utter a word of either greeting or reproach.

"Indoors," he replied, smiling.

Aurra glared at him, now certain that the pirate was about to try and ransom her own child back to her. "Take me to her."

To her surprise, he didn't immediately try and 'set terms', but gestured for her to follow him back towards the compound. She complied, hands still trained on her blaster, not sure if she was about to walk into a reunion or an ambush. She was, despite everything, fond of Hondo, but she knew better than to assume he wouldn't sell her out if the price was right.

After a few moments of walking forward in awkward silence, Hondo paused, turned and smiled.

Aurra knew that smile of old. It was the one that he always wore when he was about to turn on the charm and try and persuade her to do something that he suspected that she might not be entirely keen on doing. She might have been able to claim with some accuracy that she'd succeeded in persuading him to act against his better judgement more frequently than he'd succeeded in doing the reverse. But it was amazing how many times that smile had had the intended effect.

"What is it?" she demanded.

He was silent for a moment, as if considering what to say next. Then he slung an arm around her waist and smiled again.

"Aurra, my dear, there's been what you might call... _a development_."

Within the space of a second she had a hand around his throat and a blaster pointed at his head. "What have you done to my baby?"

Hondo, who had enough experience of not being shot by her to remain relatively unfazed by the blaster, pried the fingers from his neck and cleared his throat. "Nothing," he said, wincing a little. "She's quite well. It's just that..."

"WHAT?"

"It's just that I need you to pretend that she's the daughter of one of my men and Tula Coruscanti."

Aurra stared, wondering if his penchant for high-grade spice had finally fried his brain.

He continued. "And if you could also tell Aunt Hyarsinth that you're Tula's cousin, here for the wedding that might help too."

"Tula's cousin?" she repeated slowly, now certain that her ex-lover must have consumed one bottle of glitterstim laced wine too many.

He eyed her thoughtfully. "Well, maybe you could be half-sisters. Yes, half-sisters. That would make more sense... and explained why Ruby looks like you."

"You want me to pretend that I'm Ruby's aunt and that shoe-obsessed schutta's her mother?"

"Only for a few days."

"Why?"

Hondo made a helpless sort of gesture and shook his head. "It's a long story."

"Shorten it."

He sighed. "Well, my dear, it's like this: as difficult as it may be to believe, there are some women in this galaxy even more terrifying than you. And my Great Aunt Hyarsinth is one of them."

He then went on to detail his great aunt's inauspicious arrival, her discovery of Ruby and Hondo's 'brilliant' idea to pass her off as the illegitimate child of Tula Coruscanti and unknown member of his gang. "... so when Aunt Hyarsinth saw her hit him over the head with his own blaster she assumed the miscreant had been found and ordered me to marry them myself, this afternoon."

"And you want me to play along with this pathetic pantomime?"

"I wouldn't call it a _pantomime_, per se. More of a... charade." He looked at her in what was trying (and almost succeeding) to be a winning manner.

Aurra eyed him sceptically, but opted against outright refusing his ludicrous request. She could do that once she had her daughter (and the new nanny droid) in her custody.

**-o0O0o-**

Sholto did not dislike Ingot Cadinn.

Not having any surviving male relatives to look to for guidance, the young Weequay had come to see the older pirate as something of an uncle figure. A seedy, disreputable, filthy-minded uncle, who frequently subjected the entire compound to extremely loud drunken renditions of the Sarlacc Song; but an uncle nonetheless.

This did not however prevent him from groaning outloud when Cadinn made a borderline obscene remark about Tula Coruscanti and declared that it was time that they had a man to man talk.

"I'm only marrying her for the speeder bike," Sholto protested.

"Ah yes," said Cadinn. "But there'll be other advantages to being married to her."

"I don't want to take _that_ kind of advantage," said Sholto, pulling a face. "She's all pink and smooth... and she smells weird."

Cadinn shook his head. "That's just perfume. most females of 'er species wear it. Besides, I wasn't talking about _that _– though I could give you some pointers if you—"

"NO!"

Cadinn shrugged. "Suit yourself. What I mean though is that Miss Coruscanti's a very wealthy woman. Very wealthy indeed."

Having now resigned himself to the marriage, Sholto found himself rather more intrigued by this fact than he had when the Boss had mentioned it. "When you say very wealthy how rich do you mean?"

"Richer than most top grade spice merchants. A lot richer."

Sholto couldn't keep his eyes from widening. He had no idea what the average yearly income of a top grade spice merchant was, but he was certain that it would be enough to afford a whole fleet of customised speeder bikes with blaster on.

"Richer than the Boss?"

Cadinn shook his head. "If you're talking net worth, then no, nowhere near as rich as the Boss. What she has got though is 'liquid assets'."

Sholto stared at him uncomprehendingly, wondering what nets and liquid had to do with anything. To his knowledge Captain Ohnaka had never demonstrated the least bit of interest in recreational fishing (though he had once threatened to barbeque a Mon Calamari merchant when he'd refused to give him the access codes to the ship's safe).

"What I mean," explained Cadinn. "Is that the Boss has got more stuff overall, but she's got more what you might call 'ready money'. You know: currency, gold, jewels and the like."

This explanation stretched Sholto's capacity for economic understanding to the limit, but he thought he grasped the core of what the older pirate was trying to convey.

"So if she's got all these jewels and gold why haven't we made her hand all of it over then? There's more of us than there is of her and we've all got blasters. The Boss could say 'give us the loot or we'll shoot you in the head'."

"Ah well, that's because she's useful."

"Doesn't seem very useful to me. All she ever does is stand around talking to people."

"Ah yes, but what's she talking about?"

"'s far as I can tell it's mainly the state of the Sullustan black market, arguments between the Hutt cartels and how Senator Dee Bell's been emblezellwhatsit from some fund. You know, boring stuff." In Sholto's world the distinction between interesting and boring tended to be a rather clear cut affair. Speeder bikes, speeder bike accessories, blasters, loot, booze, gambling, explosions, punching people and ogling pictures of (non-smooth) women were interesting. Everything else was varying shades of boring and incomprehensible.

"Boring to you perhaps, but to some people that's valuable information. What she's really good at though is finding people to buy things that aren't strictly legal and... well, acquiring the documentation to make them look legal. And a lot of people are happier to buy not strictly legal things from 'er than they are from people like us."

"Why?"

"Because if they're dealing with a nice, harmless-looking little human lady who can pretend to be respectable if the situation demands it. Makes 'em feel less grubby about dealing with the pirating fraternity."

Sholto resumed his uncomprehending stare. "Still don't see why we can't tell her to hand over the loot. It's what the Boss usually gets us to do."

Cadinn sighed. "Think of it this way. If we took 'er for every last chip of gold she owns we'd all end up a bit richer once the loot was shared out amongst the gang. But she wouldn't work for us again and the Boss would have trouble finding a go between in future deals. They'd all be wanting a bigger cut because of the risk we'd double cross 'em. On the other hand, if the Boss just confiscates a bit of her property every now and again, demands a few non-repayable loans and occasionally ransoms 'er to 'er brother the high priest(1), then that's just business as usual and everything stays reasonably amicable."

"So it's a bit like how we let them Rodian ore traders keep their ship after we took all the loot so we could loot them again next time they passed through the sector."

"Yes, a bit like that. The Boss has always been something of a strategic thinker." Cadinn's grin returned. "You know, I reckon this whole marriage thing might be a blessing in disguise."

"What, because she might buy me some guns to go on the speeder bike the Boss is going to give me?" Sholto was already mentally planning exactly where on the new bike they would be mounted.

"Well, yes. There's that. But think of it this way: this gang is a sort of family..."

"It is? I thought we was just pirates."

"Of course we're pirates, but we're family too, in a way. Not immediate family of course. More like a bunch of second cousins. You know, second cousins that punch each other in the face a lot."

Sholto frowned. The only thing he could remember about his actual cousins was their propensity for making him the butt of their jokes... which, when he thought about it, wasn't that much different from his life in the Ohnaka Gang.

"So you're saying than by marrying her I'll be making her and her big piles of gold part of the family?"

Cadinn clapped him on the back. "There's hope for you yet. 'Course, you should probably make yourself scarce once _she_ realises it."

**-0-**

(1)Tula's brother Tulbert had founded the New Orthodox Church of the Evershining Overbeing shortly after fleeing a disintegrating Wayfarer Station(1a) in the company of a Terellian acrobat, a Theelin singing girl, a troupe of Twi'lek dancers, an incontinent Dug and eighteen members of the Wookie League of Temperance. Devotees of the NOCOTEO (or the 'Mad Hatters' as they were known due to their proclivity for wearing metal caps to keep out the Jedi mind rays) believed in charity, family values, regular prayer and combating the Great Jedi Mind Wipe Conspiracy(1b).

(1a)An incident precipitated by Aurra Sing's desire to acquire two bounties with one rapid round of blaster fire and Hondo Ohnaka's desire for Aurra Sing.

(1b)Despite his sister's urging to 'move on' and 'have a sense of proportion', Tulbert never had got over being shortchanged by way of mind trick(1c) and was now the author eight widely circulated data pamphlets on the subject of how the Jedi were planning to - amongst other things - brainwash the galaxy and raise a cosmic horror that would consume Coruscant's populace(1d).

(1c)Quinlan Vos has a lot to answer for.

(1d)Needless to say, Zillo Beast affair had sparked a seventy-five percent upsurge in NOCOTEO membership.

**-o0O0o-**

Ruby's response to seeing her mother was one of unabashed joy.

It was, Hondo mused, quite probably the first time Aurra's life that anybody had been quite so thoroughly and unambiguously happy to have her walk into their presence. A strange sentiment one might think for a man who'd been romantically involved with her on and off for over a decade; but the fact was that his affection for her had always been tempered with a good deal of wariness. She was dangerous. He'd always known it. He'd always found it deeply (if inexplicably) attractive. He had never however neglected the possibility that one day she might take it upon herself to stick a (real or metaphorical) knife in his back.

There was no such caution in Ruby's reaction to her mother though: just delighted smiles and a lot of happy gurgling.

Aurra, far more pleased to see Ruby than Hondo had expected, smiled back at the infant before picking her up and making a show of inspecting her for any sign of injury. Then, finding none, she let the child settle in her arms.

"Did you miss me?" she said, voice devoid of the teasing tone that would usually accompany a question like that.

Hondo cleared his throat. "Miss you? Well—"

"I was talking to Ruby."

Once again, Ruby was far less ambivalent on this point than her father. Small hands reached out to grasp her mother's hair and utility vest.

"No Ruby," said Aurra, extracting a braid from the tiny fist. "Don't pull Mama's hair."

Ruby, never happy to have anything taken away from her, made a small noise of distress.

Aurra sighed.

Ruby made the noise again. Louder this time.

Aurra sighed again, deeper this time. "Ruby, we've already been through this. The universe is a cold, hard place and looking small and sad gets you nowhere."

Obviously not of a mind to heed her mother's words in the spirit in which they'd been intended, Ruby began to whimper. It was, Hondo knew from ten days of experience, an inevitable prelude to a full display of his daughter's impressive lung capacity.

Acting before quite thinking through what he was doing, he picked up one of the brightly coloured bean bags that lay strewn on the play mat and pressed it into her hand.

The effect was not instantaneous, but after a few more whimpers the object began to draw her attention and she drifted back into a state of contentment.

Aurra on the other hand was far from content.

"She'll never learn to fight for what she wants if you keep handing it to her," she said, tersely. It was a tone of voice he was more than familiar with. The one she'd always used when they were working on a job together and he'd decided on a course of action she didn't like(1)

Hondo made a dismissive gesture. "She's just a baby."

"A baby who's going to grow up to be the greatest bounty hunter the galaxy's ever known."

He looked at Ruby, who had just discarded the bean bag in favour of sucking her thumb. She did not, in his opinion, look like someone who was going to grow up to be the greatest bounty hunter the galaxy's ever known. She seemed too, what was the word... _content_.

"And what if she doesn't want to be a bounty hunter?"

"Of course she wants to be a bounty hunter." She looked down at the child in her arms. "You want to be a hunter like Mama, don't you?"

Ruby didn't make any response.

Hondo grinned. "Ah, see, the little one's not so sure. Maybe she wants to have a more sociable occupation... like piracy."

Aurra scowled. "Don't try and undermine my authority, Hondo. You've only had her for ten days. I gave birth to her."

Hondo knew from experience that the wisest course of action would be to make an exaggerated gesture of exasperation and leave it at that. To air his grievances in a manner that wasn't liable to enrage her. However, he'd been through a lot in the last ten days and was somewhat annoyed about the situation. He could no longer quite bring himself to resent the fact of Ruby's existence. But he did very much resent the manner in which she'd been presented to him.

"Undermine your authority? You were the one who abandoned her here."

Her expression contorted into a look of absolute fury. For a few moments he was almost certain that he was about to receive a sharp blow to the face. Said blow however failed to materialise. A fact that probably had more to do with the fact that any sudden movement on Aurra's part might induce a fit of ear-splitting crying on Ruby's part than any concern for Hondo's comfort.

"I. Did. Not. Abandon. Her." The words were hissed through clenched teeth.

"You left her with an unprincipled, drunken pirate captain who once swapped his own grandmother for a new tank. How did you know I wouldn't sell her to the Hutts?"

Aurra just glowered, unable to refute the truth of this statement; and not quite willing to shoot him in the head while holding Ruby.

"And you say you left her here because your nanny droid broke before you went away on that job with Bane. What if the droid had broken while you were away? What then?" He refrained from mentioning the fact that the present nanny droid had berated him for neglect.

There was a long pause, during which an expression that might have been guilt, but was probably embarrassment settled on Aurra's face.

"What is it?" he said, curious and suspicious in equal measure.

"Nothing," she replied.

It was Hondo's turn to eye her sceptically.

She gave an irritated sigh. "Okay, fine. The last nanny droid broke because I shot it. Apparently that model wasn't designed to take close range blaster fire." She spoke as if this was some deeply stupid design flaw that ought to have been corrected during beta testing.

"Shot it!" He gaped in a decidedly Sholto-like manner. "What in the name of Quay did you do that for?"

"It told me I was an unfit mother." She proceeded to glare, as if daring him to make comment.

Hondo, not entirely unsympathetic to the late nanny droid's opinion, opted to play it safe and not say anything. He knew that he himself was not perhaps the most ideal father figure a baby girl could have, but at least he'd never done anything to endanger her... Well, apart from the mishap with the bar droid... and the incident with the concussion grenade. But they had been honest accidents. He'd certainly never gone and left her with somebody who might trade her for military hardware though. On that point his conscience(2) was entirely clear.

Of course, his own dear, sweet and much revered mother had sold him to the Hutts as a child... but that was an entirely different matter.

Aurra's eyes narrowed.

"I said nothing," he protested. Hondo could tell however that she was weighing up her chances of successfully fleeing the wrath of the entire Ohnaka Gang should she decide to fire a round of blaster bolts into their leader. Hondo cleared his throat. "I wouldn't say that you're a bad mother... as such. How could I? I've never seen you do any mothering." Well, this wasn't strictly true, he had watched part of that whole disastrous scenario with Jango's son play out, but this was a time for diplomacy not suicidal honesty.

"Ruby likes me," she said, sounding almost defensive.

This appeared to be true. However, given that Ruby also seemed to like picking up stray concussion grenades and shaking them, Hondo suspected that she could not yet be classed as a pinnacle of good judgement. Then again, Ruby was only three months old. Hondo on the other hand had no such excuse.

"Why wait until now to tell me about her?" he said, after a protracted and rather uncomfortable pause.

"I was angry. You took Slave One and got me pregnant."

"You destroyed half the compound. I was just extracting compensation."

She looked down at Ruby and then looked back up at him, glowering. "_Compensation?_"

Realising his mistake, Hondo raised his hands. "I meant the ship. Just the ship... And it's not as if I meant to..." He made an arcing gesture in front of his stomach. "I didn't know it was even possible."

"You think it was my fault? I didn't know it could happen either."

"You were the one who wanted to..." He trailed off, unwilling to say the word (or any of its many and varied synonyms) in front of Ruby.

"You didn't object. In fact, I distinctly recall you saying: '_Oh my dear, why don't you let me...'_" She paused, looked down at her daughter and turned an interesting shade of grey. "Well, you know what you said."

Alas, he did. "You could have told me, once you knew."

"Like I said, I was angry."

He was tempted to point out that had he not helped to extract her from the wreckage of Jango's ship, she would have almost certainly died of blood loss and exposure; but he knew that bringing the matter up wouldn't do him any good. Aurra's gratitude was always a transient and fleeting thing.

There was another long and rather tense pause, during which Ruby started to squirm and fuss. Her mother responded by rocking her a little and making a few shushing sounds, but none of it had any discernable effect. In fact, if anything, the little one seemed to grow even more restless.

"Has she been fed?" Aurra demanded.

Hondo shrugged. "I leave that to the droid."

He was about to suggest summoning said droid, who had been temporarily dismissed so that he could talk to Aurra privately (or at least as privately as one could get on Florrum), when a distressing smell filled the room.

Aurra, closer to the source than he, pulled a face. "Somebody needs to change her," she declared. It was clear that the 'somebody' in question was not going to be Aurra.

"That too I leave to the droid," said Hondo.

"Then fetch it back."

Not the least inclined to argue, he reached into his pocket for a communications device. However, before he had time to recall the (competent but frankly irritating) droid, there was a loud crash, followed by the sound of raised voices.

Then Aunt Hyarsinth barged into the room, yanking a struggling, squealing Tula in with her.

Hondo immediately straightened up. "Ah, Great Aunt Hyarsinth. I was just talking to Miss Coruscanti's sister about the impending wedding."

He looked imploringly at Aurra, who gave an amused smile.

"Half-sister," she said.

Aunt Hyarsinth sniffed. "And are you a shameless schutta like her?" She jabbed an accusatory finger at Tula.

Hondo groaned. This was going to end in a bloodbath.

To his astonishment however, Aurra's amusement seemed to grow. "What's the little harlot done now?"

Tula gaped, but did not protest. She was, he well knew, more terrified of Aurra than of any other being alive.

"Tell her!" Aunt Hyarsinth demanded, yanking Tula's hair.

Tula pulled free and stood up straight. "If you must know I was using the holocom to tell Senator Dee Bell that if he's no longer interested in organising my security passes and docking clearances, then I'm no longer interested in being his mistress."

Aurra snorted. "Dee Bell? You must be desperate."

Tula pouted. "He's bought me some very nice presents over the years."

Hondo looked at Aunt Hyarsinth. "What exactly do you want me to—"

"Order her to mend her ways."

He looked apologetically at Tula before faking an expression of disapproval. "No more seducing low life Senators for you. Sholto's a fine young pirate and he doesn't deserve to be cuckolded for a...a..."

"Pathetic pervert with a Wampa pelt fixation," Aurra supplied.

Aunt Hyarsinth looked from Tula to Ruby to Aurra and back to Ruby again. Then, after a few moments in which her eyes seemed to narrow in suspicion, she nodded to her nephew and left the room.

Aurra smiled at Tula, who instinctively shrank back.

"You know, _half-sister,_ I think that it's time that you started to take more care of my _precious niece_."

Tula blanched and looked desperately at Hondo, who gave a helpless shrug as the fretting infant was handed to her.

"But she smells awful," Tula protested.

"The changing things are under the crib."

Hondo shook his head and edged closer to Aurra, who now seemed to be in quite good spirits.

"You could just have sent for the nanny droid," he said quietly, as the unfortunate Tula attempted to get Ruby to stay still long enough to replace the soiled garments. "There's no need to be cruel to her."

"I know," she murmured, bringing her mouth close to his ear. "But it's so much fun to watch Coruscanti squirm. You wouldn't deny me that would you, my darling."

_My darling?_ Now there were two words that had got him into no end of trouble over the years; especially when they said in that ever-so-slightly husky voice. Even now, they stirred up feelings towards the speaker that a wholly sane man would repress and bury.

Alas, Hondo Ohnaka knew deep down that he was not a wholly sane man.

**-0-**

(1) Such as refusing to take risks that were likely to lead to half his gang getting blown up.

(2) Contrary to popular opinion, Hondo did have a conscience. It was just a remarkably flexible one.

**-0-**

**A/N:** Okay, looks like this section of the series is going to be a three-parter.


	6. The Wedding: Part 3

**A/N:** Haven't managed to update for a while due to various RL obligations. Thank you to everybody who read and reviewed the last chapter.

**KitFisto's Girl:** Thanks :) I'm glad you're still enjoying the story.

**Queen**: Heh, Tula really doesn't know when to quit (or indeed when to flee the planet). Aurra sees instilling proper seething resentment towards the cruel, unfeeling universe is her maternal duty. Ruby however is _very_ good at looking small and sad.

**Aurora Luna 0Love This0**: Always happy to entertain :)

**Reulte**: Thank you :) I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

**Anahita Unduli II**: Poor little Ruby. It would serve her parents right if she decided to eschew the criminal underworld and take up a career in floristry.

**Coli Chibi**: Am glad you're enjoying the story :)

**Fandelivres**: Thanks for commenting (you're English is a lot better than my French). Aurra thinks that she's a perfectly good mother and is rather irked by the fact that nobody else seems to agree with her on this point.

**Ash Veran**: Heh, poor Hondo. I fear however that he brings it all on himself.

**-o0O0o-**

Since becoming the leader of a band of Weequay brigands Hondo Ohnaka had engaged a wide variety of strange, bizarre, exotic, morally dubious and outright illegal activities(1). Despite this, he had never before been required to formally join two beings in matrimony. As the Captain it was technically his job. However, relationships between the pirates in his gang tended to be based more on 'informal agreements'(2) than public commitments; and thus it was an activity of which his knowledge was entirely second hand(3).

Still, if there was one thing that he enjoyed it was playing to an audience and so it was with a grin and a gleam in his eye that he surveyed the beings assembled in the bar to watch the wedding of Sholto and Tula. There was aunt Hyarsinth, as stern and pinched faced as ever; his finest warriors, in various stages of drunkenness; Pilf Muk Muk outdrinking the lot of them; and Aurra, looking for all the galaxy as though the whole thing was a spectacle being put on for her personal amusement.

He cleared his throat. "Marriage is a very fine and honourable institution."

There was a round of snickering from the drunken pirates, to which Aunt Hyarsinth responded with a disapproving scowl. The fact that the gratuitous consumption of ale was a staple of traditional Weequay marriage ceremonies meant that she couldn't outright complain. However, that didn't mean that she had to like it.

"Yes, yes, a very honourable institution. It's about commitment and tradition and ..." he paused, struggling to think if marriage had any other purposes. It was not, after all, a state that he himself had ever considered entering into. Then inspiration struck "It's about bringing families closer together." This was no, of course, no mere platitude; Hondo was very keen to bring the 'Ohnaka Gang family' closer to the Coruscanti family's liquid assets.

His grin widened. "As my sweet mother always used to say—"

The wisdom that he was about to impart was cut off when Ruby started to cry. Sholto, who was holding the little one as though she might explode at any minute, looked desperately around.

"Oh, give her to me," said Tula snappishly, clearly wanting the whole disagreeable event to be over as soon as possible.

Sholto eagerly handed the infant over; a move that caused Ruby to cry even louder. For this, Hondo didn't blame her one bit. Tula was reeking of a particularly obnoxious brand of floral-scented perfume.

Thankfully for the eardrums of all assembled however, after a few moments of inconsolable wailing, Ruby became enthralled with the bright, glittering accessories Tula had attached to her wig.

"Where was I?" he said.

"You were committing them to an institution," Aurra called out, looking thoroughly entertained.

There was a roar of laughter from the pirates. Tula scowled and quietly muttered something about not being the one who needed to be institutionalised.

"Something that your mum said," said Sholto.

"Ah yes. As my sweet mother always used to say when asked why she'd married my father: _'Well, you can't pull the Mid Rim Gem Hoard Con by yourself, can you?_ And that, I think, says it all. There are some jobs that you can't pull without a reliable partner." He then recalled that his own father had never really been on familiar terms with the concept of 'reliability'. "Well, a partner, at least. And many would argue that raising a child is one of them."

He risked a glance at Aunt Hyarsinth and was relieved to see that her nodding her head approvingly. Time, he thought, to wrap the whole thing up and let the gang get down to some serious drinking(4).

"So Sholto, do you agree to marry this woman."

For moment Sholto eyed Tula, clearly having second thoughts about the matter. Then the young Weequay shrugged. "Yes, Boss."

"Excellent. Now Tula, do you agree to marry this man."

Tula gave an ill-natured sigh and opened her mouth to speak. However, as her lips began to form the words 'I do', something happened. Something that was about to throw all of Hondo's cleverly orchestrated deceptions into disarray.

Obi Wan Kenobi walked through the bar door.

-0-

(1)Sometimes all at the same time.

(2)Though it would be a mistake to conflate 'informal' with 'casual'. Such arrangements frequently had a very distinct undertone of: _'If you so much as look at another sentient being I'll slit your throat and steal your loot'._

(3)... and almost entire derived from the gatecrashing, looting and pillaging of upscale Outer Rim wedding receptions.

(4)While most beings would doubtless class the previous hour's booze consumption as an 'almighty binge', to the pirates of the Ohnaka Gang it had constituted nothing more than a little light merry making.

**-o0O0o-**

As she watched the whole ridiculous charade play out, Aurra couldn't help but be a little impressed by the way that Hondo had managed to get everyone to play along. Tula Coruscanti could, of course, be bribed to do more or less anything that wasn't dangerous or out and out unhygienic. But the fact that he'd got his entire gang in on the act was quite something.

She herself was playing along partly because the situation amused her, partly because she liked the idea of Hondo being indebted to her(1) and partly because she actually liked Hondo.

Liking Hondo was an inconvenient habit that Aurra had never quite managed to quit. She always told herself that she'd come and claim the bounty on his head if the price was right, but it hadn't happened yet, despite the rather generous offer Urgo the Hutt had once made(2). Aurra suspected that the sentiment was mutual, but couldn't quite guess the price at which he'd sell her out. She would, she knew, be furious if the sum in question was less than seven figures.

"Make a funny-looking couple, don't they?" muttered a nearby Weequay. Even for a pirate he looked hard-bitten, with one arm, one eye and what was obviously a false leg.

She snorted. "A half-wit and a schutta."

The pirate cracked a gap toothed smile. "Ere, didn't you lock the Coruscanti woman a box once?"

She shrugged. "She was the only person small enough to fit in it."

Her gaze then fell on her daughter who – seemingly unbothered by the noise and commotion – was industriously trying to pull the baubles off Tula Coruscanti's hideous turquoise wig. _Such an acquisitive little girl_, she thought fondly. If she could just be brought to realise that the best way to obtain bright shiny objects was with the aid of a blaster and the right underworld contacts then all would be well. However, as her thoughts began to drift – as they often did these days – to thoughts of Baby's First Rifle and matching mother and daughter holsters, a man walked through the door.

It took her half a second to register the lightsaber and another half a second to duck behind a partition. Then, blaster at the ready, she waited and listened.

-0-

(1) Aurra being Aurra, it hadn't occurred to her that she might be indebted to him for hauling her half-dead body out of the wreckage of Slave 1.

(2) Though to be fair, the fifty-thousand credits she'd subsequently claimed for Urgo's carcase had been a lot of money for very little effort.

**-o0O0o-**

"Kenobi, what are you doing here?" Hondo forced as much joviality into his voice as he could, but under the surface panic was starting to set in. He wasn't sure what he was more afraid of: Aunt Hyarsinth finding out that Ruby was not the progeny of Sholto and Tula, or Aurra finding out that Kenobi already knew about Ruby's existence.

"Oh, it's quite simple. I've come to escort Miss Coruscanti to a tribunal at the galactic senate."

"Galactic Senate," Tula squeaked, terrified. As far as Hondo was concerned however her fate was a far less dreadful fate than the one that he was currently envisioning for himself.

"Senator Dee Bell's been indicted for corruption. You're a witness, apparently."

"Apparently?" Tula's tone of voice went from terrified to incensed.

"I don't know the specifics, but Senator Amidala seems to have obtained evidence to suggest that you know something about Dee Bell's less savoury habits."

"She should know, she's one of them," crowed one of the pirates. Hondo could see that his men were enjoying the scene far more than he was. For a split second he considered ordering them to fire on Kenobi. If they shot en masse one of them was bound to hit. Then he thought about the general carnage and complication it would cause and thought the better of it. Besides, it wasn't as if he had any particular desire to kill the Jedi. Steal his lightsaber and any valuables he might be carrying, maybe. But not kill him.

"Hondo, do you know this man?" demanded Aunt Hyarsinth.

"_Him?_". He gave a short and rather forced laugh. "This is just Obi Wan Kenobi. He's an old friend of mine."

Kenobi raised an eyebrow. "Friend? The first time I came here I was drugged, imprisoned and electrocuted. I have to say that you have a very strange definition of friendship."

"Oh that." Hondo made a dismissive gesture. "That was just business. It was nothing personal."

"Yes, so you said." The Jedi visibly rolled his eyes. "Look Hondo, I've not come to reminisce about times past. I'm merely here to collect Miss Coruscanti."

"You want me to turn her over to you?" For a second Hondo mentally debated what he could demand in exchange for Tula's handover. Despite the perilous nature of the situation, he was still Hondo Ohnaka. Before he could come to a firm conclusion on the matter however, Aunt Hyarsinth took the decision from him.

"You can't take her away yet. They're not married."

"Married?" Kenobi scrutinised the bride and bridegroom in turn, clearly wondering why a high class tart like Tula Coruscanti would pledge herself to a callow young Weequay pirate like Sholto. "Those two?"

"Because of the baby," blurted out Sholto, clearly unable to stand the Jedi's gaze.

"What, _that_ baby?" Kenobi pointed to Ruby, who responded by giving the Jedi a happy, gurgling smile. Hondo's little girl, it seemed, enjoyed playing to an audience almost as much as her father did... well, mostly did. At this particular moment the thought of quietly fading into the background held a certain appeal.

"That's right," mumbled Sholto. Had Weequay been capable of blushing, Hondo had no doubt that that was what Sholto would be doing right now.

Kenobi turned his gaze on Hondo, his expression one of perplexity. Hondo responded by giving a subtle nod in the direction of his great aunt and looking at the Jedi imploringly. For a moment the Jedi looked puzzled, then a look of amused realisation seemed to dawn.

"So you see, you can't take her away until they're decently married."

"What?" Tula squealed. "You can't let him drag me back to Coruscant. We have an agreement."

"Yes, but it doesn't cover Jedi," he said, making an emphatic gesture. As soon as the words had left his mouth however, Hondo realised that he'd miscalculated.

Tula's nostrils flared. "Well, in that case, I'm done." Then she glared at him an evil, angry little smile tugging at her painted mouth. He could tell that she was trying to think of the most devastating way to declare the truth to Aunt Hyarsinth. Hondo inwardly cursed. There was no bribe he could offer without giving the game away himself. He doubted that any subtle threat on his part would work either. Despite the fact that he was the leader of one of the Outer Rims most infamous pirate gangs and could order her death with a snap of his fingers, he knew that she wasn't particularly scared of him.

Then inspiration struck. She might not be mortally afraid of him, but she was terrified of Aurra.

"Now Tula," he said, lowering his voice. "I don't think that you should anything that might upset your half-sister. You know how _touchy_ she can be."

Tula scowled. "What the kriff are you—" As she reached mid-sentence, she crashed to a verbal halt, comprehension suddenly hitting.

For a few moments, her expression was one of agonised indecision. Then she straightened, handed Ruby to Hondo and turned to the Jedi and gave an indignant sniff.

"I'm not talking to anybody without my legal representative present."

Looking at her in the same way that one would a temperamental child who was up past its bedtime, Kenobi gave a snort of amusement and escorted her from the bar, ignoring both Aunt Hyarsinth's protests and Tula's declarations of her intent to sue.

For a while there was dead silence. Then Sholto cleared his throat.

"Do I still get to keep the speeder bike?"

**-o0O0o-**

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you almost caused me today?"

Ruby opened her eyes, regarded him with a placid, untroubled expression and then closed them again.

Smiling fondly in spite of himself, Hondo put her back into her bassinette, noticing as he did so that she was clasping something in her right hand. On coaxing it from her grasp, he saw that it was one of Tula Coruscanti's hair ornaments.

"Clever girl," he said, giving a chuckle.

"She gets it from her mother," said a female voice off to his side.

Hondo looked at Aurra sceptically, but decided that it was neither the time nor the place dispute this assertion and start listing her intellectual failings(1). To his relief she had not deduced that Kenobi had any prior knowledge of Ruby's existence(2). She had however expressed her extreme dissatisfaction about the fact that she hadn't been able to get a clear shot at Kenobi and obviously thought it extremely kind and self-sacrificing of her to refrain from shooting at him through Hondo (didn't he know that the Separatists had a one million credit bounty on Jedi?). Knowing that she wouldn't have hesitated to shoot through most other beings to achieve her aims, he did, despite himself, feel touched (not to mention relieved) by the fact.

"What are you going to do now?" he asked, no quite certain how he wanted her to respond. On the one hand the woman was magnet for trouble: destruction followed in her wake as if she was the goddess of some primitive death cult(3). On the other hand, he'd be sad to see Ruby go. In the ten days since their inauspicious introduction he'd grown very fond of her. Florrum was not, of course, a suitable place for a small child... but even so.

"I'm waiting for Bane."

"He's coming here?"

She shook her head. "I'll be meeting him on Nar Shaddaa"

"Something big?" he asked, interested.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Her tone was sultry, teasing. But there was a certain edge to voice that suggested that any further probing would be futile.

"So, what about her?" He nodded towards the bassinette, where Ruby was sleeping.

"I can leave her with the droid, or..." Her lips curved into a smirk.

"Or what?" he asked, suspiciously.

"Or I suppose I could leave her here for another few weeks." The smirk intensified. "In fact I think you were right, it's not safe to leave her alone with a droid for such a long time."

"Now, wait a minute," he protested. "You can't..." Then he trailed off, fully aware that he d didn't want the child to be left alone in an isolated, booby-trapped apartment with no company apart from an overly officious nanny droid. Muttering something in the Weequayan language that roughly translated as 'damnable woman whom I ought to have shot while I still had the chance' he scowled at her.

She merely smirked in the obnoxious – but annoyingly fetching – manner of one who knew that they had already won.

"Fine," he said. "But don't expect me to take her in every time you've got somebody to kill."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Aurra replied. "As soon as she's old enough to hold a blaster I can start taking her with me."

"Now wait a minute..."

As her parents launched into an argument about the proper age at which to introduce a child to the world of contract killing, Ruby dreamed. She dreamed of jewels and monkey lizards and all of the interesting, brightly coloured things that she'd be able to play with once she learned how to travel about on two legs.

-0-

(1)It was not that he thought her stupid. Stupid females were only ever of very transient interest to him(1a). It was more that she was more that her single-minded pursuit of prey sometimes crossed the line from relentless to idiotic.

(1a)And even then, his interest was limited to those who looked like they might stand a good chance of landing a starring role in the next _Interspecies Pillow Fight _holo.

(2)Though he suspected that he'd be having nightmares about rusty daggers for weeks.

(3)This was, in fact, technically true. An emergency crash landing nine years earlier had led to Aurra and Hondo becoming indelibly enshrined in the religious iconography of a pre-industrial species as: _Pale Bringer of Death_ and _He Who Takes Anything Not Nailed Down._


End file.
